The present invention is directed to the field of power plants. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a fuel efficient rotary engine having an efficiency rating exceeding 60%.
Recently, fuel costs have skyrocketed to in excess of $2.00 per gallon. This has led to an increase in popularity of hybrid cars which use electric motors to reduce the amount of fuel consumed. This approach is basically a “band-aid solution” to a problem requiring surgery. Conventional gasoline engines have overall efficiencies which are, typically, less than 25% for a conventional V-8 engine. This is due in large part to the fact that the engine is water cooled to remove the heat. Internal combustion engines produce heat, a form of energy which, instead of being used to perform work, is discarded as a waste product. With rising fuel costs which result from increase world-wide demand placed on limited resources, it is imperative that more efficient power plants be developed to obtain greater overall work from our limited fuel supplies.
The rotary engine of the present invention is capable of producing efficiency ratings which exceed 65%. This engine, instead of throwing away the heat as an unwanted by-product of combustion, employs the heat to produce work. This engine, which is made of cast iron with interior portions of the housing being coated with ceramic and the outside enshrouded with insulation, operates at temperatures which exceed 850° F. Accordingly, water can be injected into the combustion chamber, in addition to the fuel, producing superheated steam which expands to drive the vanes of the rotary engine significantly reducing the amount of fuel needed to do the same amount of work.
The rotary engine of the present invention comprises a) a cylindrical housing having a peripheral wall with an internal surface; b) a rotor offset within the housing; c) a plurality of vanes associated with the rotor in a manner such that the vanes rotate with the rotor while permitting radial sliding movement relative thereto; d) an intake orifice; e) an exhaust orifice; f) a plurality of grooves in the internal surface of the peripheral wall beginning downstream of the intake orifice, the plurality of grooves extending over a distance generally equal to one quadrant of the peripheral wall; whereby expanding gases can bypass at least one proximate vane to engage a vane at a greater distance from the intake orifice.
Preferably, the plurality of vanes are comprised of solid vane members which extend through the rotor simultaneously engaging opposing portions of the peripheral wall. A plurality of roller bearings engage lateral portions of each of the vane members facilitating their radial sliding movement. Most preferably, the plurality of rollers bearings comprise at least two pairs of roller bearings engaging each vane member, a first roller bearing of a first pair engaging a first side of the vane member at a first end, a second roller bearing of the first pair engaging a second side of the vane member at the first end, a first roller bearing of a second pair engaging a first side of said vane member at a second end, a second roller bearing of the second pair engaging the second side of the vane member at the second end.
In the preferred embodiment, the plurality of vanes comprise two vanes which extend through the rotor, each vane having a portion of a central panel of the vane removed to permit clearance relative to the other the vane. The housing is preferably made of cast iron and has a ceramic coating on the internal surfaces as well as on a major portion of the external surfaces of the rotor. An output drive shaft attached to said rotor allows power takeoff from said rotary engine.
In another aspect of the present invention, the robust rotary engine operates at temperatures exceeding 850° F. and comprises an uncooled cylindrical housing having a peripheral wall with an internal surface; a rotor offset within said housing; a plurality of vanes associated with said rotor in a manner such that said vanes rotate with said rotor while permitting radial sliding movement relative thereto; an intake orifice; an exhaust orifice; whereby temperatures within said uncooled cylindrical housing can reach temperatures exceeding 850° F. As formerly, the internal wall of the rotary combustion engine has a plurality of grooves extending over a distance generally equal to one quadrant of said peripheral wall to permit expanding gases to bypass at least one proximate vane to engage a vane at a greater distance from the intake orifice. In this same quadrant, a plurality of injection ports are positioned about a periphery of said rotary housing along the length of the grooves for injection of at least one of substances selected from a group consisting of fuel and water. In actual practice, some injection ports will be used to supply hydrocarbon fuels selected from the group consisting of gasoline, diesel fuel, and substitute hybrid hydrocarbons, while other ports are used to inject water. Water will only be injected when the engine is operating at temperatures exceeding 850° F., such that the water becomes superheated steam expanding to drive the vanes of the rotary engine in a much more fuel efficient manner than has been known heretofore.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after a reading of the following specification.